Take my hand
by MorikoK
Summary: "No matter how many times we make mistakes, we're tempted and attracted to evil: we can always start over, rewriting our future." Gowasu's thoughts during the final dialogue with his former disciple. [Chapter 21 of Dragon Ball Super manga] [Gowasu, Black] [Gowasu's POW]


_**Disclaimer:**_ _All the characters belong to Akira Toriyama and Toyotarō._

(A big thanks to a dear friend, stellaskia, for correcting some mistakes contained in the following text.)

* * *

Facing each other.  
We're both here, on this faraway planet, in a future timeline destroyed by the desire to create what could be described as _utopia_. Disguised as an ambition to create a world free from perversion and sin, a yearning to achieve this _ephemeral dream_ is hiding behind the merciless sacrifice of many innocent lives.  
For centuries we have been discussing the balance between good and evil, the sense of justice and our roles as Creation Gods. And, every time, we end up in the same way: facing each other, talking and expressing our point of view on this matter.  
You look back at me, and you smile. With the difference that, this time, you don't look at me quietly and peacefully, but with a genuine _evil grin_.  
But despite this, I don't let your hatred crush me up. Ever since I met you, I've never seen your eyes so full of brutality and treachery.  
 _"How far have you gone, to reach this point?"_ I think, while inside me a voice is screaming to get out of there, to get as far away from that dangerous place, _if I want to live on._  
However, I don't succumb to this fear and I take courage. I'm not giving up now: I can't throw in the towel now, if I want to save you.  
 _Even at the cost of my own life._

 _«I want you to stop this madness already!»_

Why did you change so much? What's made you this way, a being you rejected with such a passion?  
You've become a _monster_ that knows no mercy, that toys with innocent lives and feels pleasure in doing so, and that have no respect for anything or anyone.  
You've started something that you not long ago despised, you took the form of a _contradiction_ who lost its initial goal filled with virtue, you got to the point of dirty your hands with blood in order not to go back to your ideals and your desires.  
 _«Your reasoning is wrong!»_ I scream at you while I'm trying - in vain - to make you think about it. Maybe, you went down this deep abyss from which it's hard to get out unless something changes in the meantime. Maybe, somehow, I was the one who pushed you into that bleak hellhole, by showing you for all these centuries the different planets we're protecting and the wickedness that every day dwells in them. Or, maybe...  
Suddenly, as a flash, a thought leaps to my mind and, without thinking twice, I express it in a few words.

 _«Come with me... Let's start over together, and fix all this.»_

That's right. _Together_ , like it's always been.  
I'm sincere when I say that I'm ready to take you back... In fact, it's what I wish more than anything now: to come back to our planet with you, that you're so pure and innocent to the point of being not able to discern good from evil.  
You've never come to wear a mask of conscious malice towards me, you've never crossed the edge of the cliff that separates us from the demon world. The Core People have always been peaceful and gentle beings...  
 _And so were you, until that day._  
I'm shaking my head with that thought in my mind.  
No. You've always been like the rest of our people, and I figured it out by the tea you made with love and dedication.  
And, now, I finally understand why you got to do this great genocide.

 _«The only thing you showed me was the truth...»_  
 _«If through my teachings, I was unable to lead you down the true, righteous path towards being a God ... then that's my responsibility…»_

That's right: _I am at fault._  
Despite my foresight, this time I failed to see what my teachings would produce as a result. If you've become what you are, it's only because of me.  
 _I was the one_ who chose you as my successor, making you an exception to the rules of our people. _I was the one_ who helped you strengthen your physical and mental skills. Furthermore, _I was the one_ who showed you, through our crystal ball, all the tragedies and wars in which, like a loop, the main characters have always been those _mortals_ that we have a duty to protect.  
So, in a way, I can say that _I was the one_ who condemned the inhabitants of this planet to such a gory and bloody end, because I was the one who, ironically, created this mask that you are wearing with so much pride and indifference for their life.

However, if there's one thing that the wise men of Core People have taught us, it's _forgiveness_. No matter how many times we make mistakes, we're tempted and attracted to evil: we can always start over, rewriting our _future_.

 _«There's no turning back now.»_  
 _«You're wrong! Anyone can forge a new path for themselves!»_

We've always been told that even the most prodigious sinners can start a new life, leaving behind the past. If we're able to forgive those who harm us, why shouldn't we think the same about you, who are one of us? You just told me it's too late to fix it, to put an end to this flood of insanity, that you can't stop your crazy plan. I'll tell you right now it's not true: you're completely wrong about this issue. Together we'll find a remedy to this, because it's never too late to hit rewind.  
And I do understand how you feel right now. You're afraid to face the other deities, because you think they'll punish you by eliminating you forever. It's true, and now you're aware of it too, that one of them has murdered you in a timeline - _the one from which I come_ \- where you couldn't push yourself to such ruthlessness.  
However, this time I assure you that it'll be different. We're both guilty for all of this, but we can still hope for a better future for both of us. You came to murder the one who was once your teacher; at the same time I lost my best student.  
For this reason, if you want, you can come with me, in order to continue along the path you had suddenly left and to spend the rest of your life with me. We can still laugh and joke together, we can live in peace on our planet, and drink our beloved tea... _As if nothing had happened_.  
And if someone tells you that you don't deserve to live because of everything you've done so far, I'll be on your side and take responsibility for your actions. If a sacrifice is need, I'll let them take my life in place of yours.  
You deserve a do-over... and, from those pitch-black eyes that hide everything, I realized that you really want it so much, but you've become so proud to the point where you don't want to admit to asking for help.

 _«Come! Acknowledge your mistakes and let us go apologize to the King of All. Then we'll return together to the Tenth Universe, together.»_

I smile, thinking of us.  
I know you can do this. I've always believed in you and I've put a lot of faith in your abilities: don't give up on that last fragment of goodness that's still inside of you. Come back to me and let's get back our peaceful lives full of joy back: I've already forgiven you.  
So, you don't have to hesitate anymore.  
 _Let's go home, together._

 _«Take my hand... Please.»_

* * *

 **A/N:** Hello, everybody, and thank you for reading my story!  
This was my first fanfiction of Dragon Ball Super, and now I've decided to publish it in English too. Since English is not my mother tongue, I'm sorry if there are some grammar mistakes: if you find them somewhere, please tell me so I can correct them. Every constructive critique is well accepted.  
About the ff: I tried to tell the story of that so sad and final dialogue between Gowasu and Black, from the Kaiōshin's point of view. So wonderful but, indeed, so tragic… ;_;  
And, so... I hope you liked it, see you soon!  
\- Moriko


End file.
